Critically Yours
by nickduvallover
Summary: Dr. Nick Duval is a single pediatric surgeon who is very dedicated to his job and the kids. On a wet and rainy night he meets Belle Edwards, a mother of a unconscious 6 year old daughter named Ally. Will he save the girl? Will he fall in love with the mother who has had a rough divorce in the recent past? Nick/OC with Jeff.
1. Prelude

**This is a brand new story idea that came to me a month ago and I am just now writing it. It is a Nick and OC story. The woman has an FC of Kimberly Whalen who is Curt Mega's wife in real life. I love those two together sooo much and I think they are the cutest couple ever. **

**There are Warblers in this story. For instance, Jeff is Nick's best friend in this story.**

**I would love to have reviews! They fuel me and I look forward to hearing each and every one of them. They can only make me better. This is just the prelude; the next chapter will be a lot longer. **

**I do not own Glee, just the OC.**

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It had been a very wet day, turning into a night in Westerville. The forecasts were showing rain for the next 48 hours straight, all coming from a tropical storm that came from the gulf coast. The roads were not that busy as it was almost ten at night and all the citizens were about to head to bed.

Belle Edwards was one of the few people driving this late at night. She had been on her way home from the elementary school she taught at with her 6 year old daughter seated in a car seat behind her. There had been a school play and her daughter was in it. Belle was glad to finally be on her way home, it had been a very long day so far. She was glad it was a Friday, so she didn't have to worry about waking up early the next day.

Belle Edwards was a first grade teacher at Wittier Elementary School. She was really devoted to her job, always spending late nights there. In a way, teaching and the kids were her life. She had nobody to come home to; it was just her and the daughter Ally. Her boyfriend left her at the age of 20 when he found out she was pregnant and her parents cut her off at the age of 21. It had been a very long and stressful 6 years.

It was November so it was colder; the rain was making the roads really icy and very slick. Belle focused on the road while her daughter was sleeping soundly in her booster seat. Belle felt herself hydroplane and she panicked, straitening up the wheel and correcting herself. He sighed in relief before, looking back to her daughter when she woke up. Before she realized she blacked out when the car was hit. An oncoming car hit the side of the car and it went into the median strip. It was totaled; windows of the left side were shattered. The car was rolled over.

Belle felt herself regain consciousness and looked around when she was awake fully. She didn't hear Ally so she panicked, until two men approached her. One being a responder and the other being a doctor.

* * *

Nick Duval looked into the late gloomy night from his office window on the 4th floor of Dalton Medical Center. He just now started his 24 hour shift at 6 and was expecting the worse from all this rain Westerville was getting. He was an attending pediatric surgeon and was really dedicated to his profession. He was really good with the kids, the moms loved him and he was a really talented surgeon, learning from the best in his field.

He had just sat on his desk chair to work on a few charts while it was still really slow. After finishing on his second chart he looked up when he heard somebody knocking on his door.

"Come in." He announced louder so the person could hear. The door opened and Nick looked up when he saw it was a fellow attending that was in his intern class several years ago, Jeff Sterling. He was best friends with the blond. Jeff was engaged to Quinn Fabray, the Neonatal Surgeon. Nick was so focused and dedicated to his job that he was still single unlike Jeff.

"There was an accident on the freeway; a little girl is being rushed in with her mom. She is in critical condition." Jeff told his best friend. Jeff was an attending Neurosurgeon.

"Okay, thank you." Nick replied and getting up from the chair. He walked out of his office with Jeff and sighed. "What is the ETA?" Nick asked and Jeff said. "4 minutes. They had a hard time getting the daughter out of the car. It was flipped over and the girl was unconscious. Looks you have a long night ahead of you. The mom is fine; I will help you out with the girl. I will be on standby in case anything Neurological is wrong.

"Oh okay thank you Jeff. I really appreciate that. We've have always made a great team haven't we?" Nick asked with a chuckle. Both of them walked onto the elevator and rode down to the first floor. After the doors opened Nick frowned when he saw the crazy ER. All the staff was treating the minor injury patients. The waiting room was packed.

"It will most defiantly be a long night." Nick said to Jeff before they walked outside to wait.


	2. First Meeting

**Here is chapter 2! :D**

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Belle studied the faces of the men that were standing before her. She was in pain but it was manageable. All she was worried about was Ally. "Where is my daughter?" She asked, panicked when she didn't hear the 6 year old. The doctor stepped closer and kneeled down. The door of the car had to be cut off of the frame so the team could get to the girl. The two men had also rolled a stretcher over so they could put Belle on it.

"Miss? My name is Dr. Thad Harwood. Your daughter is alive, but she is in critical condition. An ambulance took her to Dalton Medical Center where a colleague of mine is taking care of her." Thad told Belle.

"I want to see her." Belle said. "I know you do, but we need to take you to the hospital as well. I am an ER trauma surgeon and you have a cut on your arm, forehead and several broken ribs. You will be with her soon, I promise." Thad smiled as he helped Trent the paramedic move Belle to the stretcher. Belle nodded as Trent put the neck brace on as precaution on her. She looked at Thad who was starting to take her pulse before she was loaded into the ambulance.

"I will ask about her status when we get there okay?" Thad told her and she nodded and sighed as the doors on the back of the large vehicle were shut.

The ambulance ride was long and it had many exams from Thad during it. Belle thought Thad was nice but she was still very worried about her daughter.

Nick and Jeff continued to wait for the ambulance of the little girl. It finally arrived a minute later and Nick got into his doctor mode. He was glad that Jeff was helping him. He hardly ever sees him with all the work they both do and it was nice to have a case with him again.

The ambulance backed in and Nick opened the door before the paramedic started to rat off information about Ally. "Ally Edwards, age 6, was in back seat when the car slipped on a patch of ice and went into the median strip. The car was said to flip over three times before stopping. Windows shattered. Abdominal bruising where the seatbelt was; signs of a SCI, abdominal bleeding and broken ribs. BP 102 over 69, GCS of 6" The paramedic said as they rolled the stretcher into Dalton's Level One Trauma Center. Jeff and Nick with a team of nurses transferred Ally to the gurney and immediately started to access her.

"Abdomen is tender and there's heavy bruising. Get me a portable ultrasound Stat." Nick announced as he pulled his green stethoscope that was resting around his neck and plugged it in his ears. He pressed the chest piece to Ally's abdomen and heard blood flow into the cavity.

Jeff had begun to access Ally's head injury; she had a large gash on the side of the head from hitting the side of the car with force. "Pupils are dilated. Let's call Radiology and book a MRI. She'll need surgery surely so call and book for an OR as well." Jeff asked and the nurse nodded.

As Nick moved up to the chest she sighed. "Let's also get a set up for a chest tube, I hear blood." Nick also ordered. Jeff and Nick continued to access the little girl and diagnose her. Once they got her stable Thad walked in the room and Nick looked up from the chart seeing him. "How is she doing?" Thad asked his college and Nick sighed. "There is a lot to deal with. She is stable… for now, but we are sending her up to Radiology real quick and then straight to the OR. Jeff is with her now." Nick answered.

"That's good, well her mom is in Room 11, she would like to speak to you." Thad told Nick and Nick nodded. "Okay good, is the mom going to be okay?" Nick questioned as they both walked out of the trauma room and Thad nodded. "Yeah, she just has a few minor lacerations and broken ribs. But she's great. She is really worried about her daughter. Just go speak to her; I am off for the night. I will see you tomorrow though." Thad patted Nick on his shoulder.

"Okay, have a good night Thad." Nick replied before walking the short distance to room 11 where Thad said the mother was. "Ms. Edwards?" He greeted assumed, the woman looked up from her crouched position on the gurney where Nick knew that she was crying.

"Hi..." She said. "Are you Ally's doctor?" The woman asked.

Nick nodded. "Yes, Dr. Nick Duval. I would say it's great to meet you… but not in these circumstances." Nick said walking over closer to her. Belle laughed and nodded before looking up at him again. "How is she? Ally?"

Nick exhaled and sat down next to her. "Well, its touch and go right now. We don't know that much but she is stable right now. All we know right now is that she will need surgery. And there will probably be more as we find out everything. She has internal hemorrhaging which means she is bleeding in to her abdomen and I will repair that. She also has a brain injury from smashing her head against the car; Dr. Sterling who is a really talented brain surgeon will repair that. We will prioritize the most severe over the minor will not sugar coat things, she is in fatal condition. But we have a brilliant team here at Dalton Medical Center, and we will give you both the best care. I promise you that." Nick told her and the woman started to panic.

"Shhh just relax." Nick told her. "She's going to die isn't she? Just say it." Nick sighed and shook his head. "No, she isn't. I do not thinking that, It is going to be a long road, but like I said a minute ago, myself and Dr. Sterling who is with her right now are going to do our absolute best, okay?" Nick smiled at her and she calmed down and nodded.

"Thank you doctor… she's just all I have. And if I lose her…" Nick stopped her. "Let's not think about losing her. I will make sure that she is well taken care of her." Nick told her. "I need to ask you though if there is anything I need to know? We haven't received her medical records yet. Does she have any allergies?"

"All she is allergic to is Penicillin and Latex." Belle answered and Nick nodded. "Noted." He made a comforting smile on his features. "Does she have any diseases, cancer?" Nick then asked and went down the list. He was happy that she answered every question and knew things. Many parents were quite the opposite which made their jobs more of a challenge.

"Okay, do you have any questions?" Nick asked now looking into her red and puffy eyes. "No, not at the moment, but will I see you after the surgery?" She asked and Nick nodded. "Of course. I have the night shift tonight so I will be here until 7 am. I can set you up in one of our parent rooms if you'd like?" Nick asked and she nodded. "Please." She replied with a faint smile on her lips. "Okay then, I will do that." Nick smiled and patted her shoulder. "Okay, well I am being paged so Ally is ready for surgery." Nick told her after his pager beeped.

As he was beginning to walk out of the room he heard. "Wait! Doctor, I forgot to mention something." Belle said and Nick turned around suddenly curious.

"She is allergic to the anesthesia."

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**Dun Dun Dunnnn!**

**So what did you guys think? I kind of cried while writing. Poor Belle! Her daughter is unconscious and in critical condition. But she has Nick right? Who is a Brilliant doctor! **

**Next chapter there will be lots of Nick and Jeff during the surgery. **

**Please Review/Follow/Favorite. It will make me very happy! **

**Also, if you have a Tumblr go check out my mania blog! I make manips for my stories and I will be posting pictures very very often! **


	3. This Complicates Things

**This includes the trauma surgery! It has Jeff and Nick and Marley is also featured as a nurse. She might make appearances here and there. I really want to hug Belle! She's going through so much as a mother and it's very sad, but Ally will survive! It's just going to be a long road until that is official in the story. The longest Belle and Nick have together, the more they know and fall in love with each other.**

* * *

Nick did not want to hear that. It made the situation many times more difficult. He closed his eyes for a brief moment to try and come up with a plan for little Ally who needed surgery if she was going to survive this horrific car accident. Nick sighed and exhaled before looking into her eyes and he smiled at her. "Thank you for letting me know, Ms. Edwards." He told her sincerely. "I will discuss with Dr. Sterling about our plan of action, but if we want to save her life she will need surgery. " Nick told her and she nodded.

"Does this ruin her chances? I mean she can't be awake- can she? She's had many surgeries before…. She has crashed every time in result." Belle began to ball her eyes out again and Nick kneeled down and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Hey, hey. This does…. Make things complicated, but this doesn't ruin her chances of survival, not at all. One thing we can do is just be in there for a few hours at a time and just do more surgeries. That's what we do a lot of times and most patients don't react if we get out g there ahead of time. " Nick told her and paused before speaking again, looking into her green eyes.

"We have to put children under regardless, it is the law. But tell you what, why don't you come with me, and tell me more about her. I will have you meet Dr. Sterling and we will discuss her plan while Ally is in Radiology. Okay?" Nick said smiling at her. Belle smiled back and nodded. "Thank you doctor Duval, you are very nice." Belle told him and got up from the gurney.

They both walked of the room while Nick was supporting her. He didn't want Belle to just collapse and he asked if she wanted a wheel chair and she declined one. They got onto the elevator that was just located outside of the ER entrance and rode up to the surgery floor which was the 4th floor. They talked more about Ally's medical history and the allergies.

After walking out of the lift Nick saw Jeff at the nurses' station writing down something on a chart. "You okay?" He asked Belle and she nodded and smiled. "I am thank you." She replied as they walked to Jeff who looked up.

"Dr. Sterling." Nick said professionally. "This is Ally's mother, Belle Edwards." Nick introduced and the blond and red head shook their hands. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Edwards. Is there anything we need to know about Ally?" Jeff asked and Nick nodded. "Well ally has lots of allergies, unfortunately, Latex, Penicillin and, Anesthesia." Nick told Jeff and nodded. "Okay um well, that will just mean we need to try to be as fast as possible tonight. She is radiology now, but I'd like to get in there as soon as possible for her brain. But I am sure Dr. Duval has told you... right?"

Belle nodded. "Yes he told me, he is being very nice. I know it's a very stressful situation… I know and I am sorry." Belle told them both.

"Oh don't apologize; it's not your fault. What I said about Dr. Sterling and myself doing our best, I wasn't lying. We will take great care of your daughter." Nick told her with a smile. "We just need to get a plan in place."

"He is right, as always." Jeff smiled and winked at Belle who laughed. "I believe you two- but" Belle started but was interrupted when a nurse peaked out of the nearby MRI room. "Ally is crashing!" She said and it immediately got Nick and Jeff running to the room. Belle followed over suddenly scared but was stopped by a nurse. "Mam, I will require you to go to the waiting room, I know you were talking to them but this area is restricted limits. I am sorry." Belle looked up and nodded, now tears dropping from her eyes. "I know, just please make sure Ally makes this. Please." Belle said and the nurse named, Marley nodded.

"Of course, but you have the best doctors caring for your daughter, Dr. Duval and Dr. Sterling is amazing. With them there's a better chance that she will pull through. Just relax; I will bring you to the waiting room. Would you like a cup of coffee?" Marley asked as they arrived to the very large waiting room.

Belle shook her head. "No, thank you—I-I am fine."

Marley nodded and smiled at her. Okay, just have a seat, and I will tell the doctors you're out here." Marley said before leaving. Belle told her thanks and sat down sighing deeply, but she couldn't help but to cry.

* * *

As soon as Nick and Jeff heard the unexpected, "Ally is crashing they cursed under their breath." They ran very fast into the large room where a male nurse, Trent was performing CPR. "Push 1 of epi, how long has she been without oxygen? Charge to 200." Nick questioned as another nurse handed him the paddles.

"One minute, doctor."

Nick nodded. "Okay, clear!" He announced to make sure nobodies hands where in the way of the shock. He shocked the girl which resulted in an improvement that lasted several seconds but it went back into v-fib.

Nick sighed. "Dammit. Charge it again." Nick growled. He really wanted to save this girl.

Nick shocked it again and Jeff looked up to the monitor. "We've got sinus." Jeff announced and Nick listened to her chest. "Okay we got her again. Take her into her OR. We need to get in there; the golden hour is almost over."

The team rolled Ally out of the room while the radiology handed Jeff the scans. Nick told Marley that he had to operate on Ally and that he ask that if she would give her updates to the mother. She said "Yes of course Nick. Good Luck." Nick smiled at her. "Thanks, we need it."

Nick walked into the scrub room just as Jeff was beginning to scrub in. Nick placed his paw print scrub cap on his head which Jeff laughed some about. "Hey, when you're a peds surgeon, the kids love these cutesy scrub caps. You have a Captain America one."

"True, I had no reason to do that." Nick nudged Nick's side as he was still scrubbing in.

"What are we going to do? We can't be in there for more than 3 hours to be safe." Nick asked as he scrubbed at his fingertips and under his nails as he watched the OR team prep Ally.

"I really don't know. She's allergic to all anesthesia… that is insane. Of course I've heard of only being allergic to one but all three basic combinations… we really don't have any other choice in the matter." Jeff replied, finishing scrubbing his hands. Nick followed Jeff into the sterile OR. They both were gowned and gloved and they walked up to their side of the table, Jeff was at the head and Nick was at the abdomen.

"We need to be quick, we are on a time clock of three hours, go ahead and set the timer, and let's hope for the best. It is a beautiful night to save lives." Nick said and Jeff nodded. The blond really loves when Nick has his speech and it gets him really motivated. "Scalpel, please." Nick requested and he was handed the 10- blade.

Jeff also started, cutting into the head for the craniotomy. Both were focused, acting quickly with sure movements. There was no time for mistakes, as usual, but this time especially. Right after Nick opened the last layer of muscle he cursed. "Dammit, I have bleeders everywhere! Cauterizer!" Nick asked and the nurse handed it to him and he started to seal off the vessel.

"I am in; give me a little suction please; Cauterizer please. the brain is swelling, I will need to keep the skull off until it goes down." Jeff said. He hated doing this to children but there was no other way. Jeff drained the bleeder and cauterized the vessel that was bleeding. Luckily it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

Nick exhaled. "Poor little girl. I feel so sorry for the mom- she told me that Ally is all she has." Nick said as he was still sealing the arteries. He really wanted to save her. It was not an option any longer, it needed to happen.

"She seems like a good mom, judging by the minute I was with her? But still, don't worry Nick, we will get her. I am almost done and I will help you." Jeff said as he made sure things were done and things were on the trays. He bandaged Ally's head and backed away, from the table and the nurse changed his gloves.

"So how is Quinn?" Nick asked his best friend as he examined the bowel for any bleeders he might have missed. Jeff smiled as he suctioned for Nick. "She is great, she is 21 weeks now. Morning sickness is gone. Her cravings are gone." Jeff replied and Nick nodded, smiling. "That is good, I am still really happy for you two." Nick told the blond as he looked up to the clock. "We have one more hour and thirty-seven seconds. How are her vitals?" Nick asked.

"They are stable, BP 124 over 76." The nurse replied and Nick nodded "Okay that's great." Nick replied as he began to do final checks on the kidney and intestine and he found a small bleeder. "There's another one. Suction." He requested and Jeff suctioned as Nick cauterized the vessels. "I think we are in the clear, don't you think Dr. Sterling?" Nick asked and Jeff chuckled. "It looks good to me." Jeff agreed as Nick was doing his second final checks, always being very through with these kids.

"Alright, let's close her up. We got the serious out the way; I want a CBC, one more unit of O-Neg when she is in the PICU. And then tomorrow, let's check everything… cardiac included." Nick announced and the nurse replied with "Yes Dr. Duval."

Nick looked over to Jeff and smiled. "That went pretty well, will you be accompanying me to the waiting room?" Nick asked and Jeff smiled. "Of course." Jeff replied.

Nick sighed. "You look exhausted; please tell me you're not on call tonight?" Nick said and Jeff looked at him. "No, I get off… well now. But I will stay to deliver the good news." Jeff assured and Nick nodded. "Okay, well let's go."

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**More characters will be featured, I am thinking of Blaine for Cardio and Sebastian who will be plastics or something. We will see!**

**I hope you like it, and I hope I see reviews! I love reviews and the fuel me as a writer. My next update is Pediatric Dentistry Meets Niff. I will get that up by tonight hopefully!**

**Remember to check out my manips! :D **


	4. Updates

Both attending surgeons walked out of the OR scrub room after scrubbing out fully. They were relieved that Ally made it through the emergency surgery, but they knew that she wasn't out of the woods yet. They had discussed about what all they wanted to do to her and decided that they would put her in a medically induced coma. They didn't k now if she would wake up, but they hoped. That didn't change the fact that her body needs to heal.

"I am going to order a full body scan- put her through the Lodox tomorrow morning and consult with Blaine." Nick had told Jeff, who nodded. "Yeah, that is a good idea. I will be here at 7 am to check on her, and I hope that she makes it over the night. Jeff had replied and nick agreed quickly.

They both walked out and into the waiting room before Nick pointed the mom out. "Ms., Edwards? Sorry for not coming back to speak to you after we vanished, I trust Marley told you about what happened?" Nick asked while he sat down next to the frantic mother. Belle nodded after looking up at the brunette surgeon. "Is Ally going to be okay?" Belle asked and Nick sighed looking at Jeff.

"Well she made it through surgery, but she is by no means out of the woods yet. Tomorrow morning, we will be doing more tests on her, but she is no longer bleeding. Her fatal injuries are taken care of." Nick began to give her more details and looked up at Jeff who bean to speak. The blond kneeled and looked into her green eyes.

"I stopped her brain bleed, however, her brain was swelling up, so I had no choice but to keep the portion of skull I used to access her brain- called the flap out. This will give it room to swell and in time it will go down. But she has brain activity which is good; we are putting her in a medically induced coma to give her body a better chance to heal faster." Jeff explained.

"Dr. Sterling is off, but I will be here all night and I will keep a close watch on her." Nick said standing up. Belle had listened to every word, nodding. She exhaled and looked at both her doctors. "Thank you; I really appreciate what you have done. Every doctor Ally has ever had are assholes, they never listened to me. Can I stay here over night?" Belle then asked and Nick nodded. "Yeah, I can set that up for you. On the pediatric floor we have parent rooms that are right by the hallway to get into the ICU rooms. I will book one for you." Nick said and Belle nodded. "Thank you."

"I will be on my way Nick; I will see you tomorrow morning-well in 6 hours. Have a good night to you both." Jeff smiled and Nick nodded. "Okay man, I will see you soon." Nick replied and Jeff left.

Nick put his hand out for Belle. "Do you want to see her? If you want to I will take you there myself." Nick offered and Belle nodded. "Yes please." She replied and took his hand. She thought Nick was a really nice and sweet guy. The both walked next to each other and walked on to the elevator.

"I am just warning you, she will not look the same. And it is not a pretty site. She has a large breathing tube down her throat and more wires like her feeding tube, chest drainage tube. They are all essential to her healing." Nick informed her and she nodded. "Okay, I am ready."

They walked into the PICU ward and Nick asked her to gown and glove up as he was doing the same thing. Belle saw her daughter in her frail state and she almost cried. but she kept strong. Nick led her in the room and Belle grabbed her limp hand and kissed it. While Nick was taking her vitals and listening to her chest, he heard Belle talk to her daughter. He had to admit that there was a tear falling from his eyes in result from the beautiful speech. He didn't know why he chose peds, but when cases like this happen, they get to him. However, this time was different, He wanted no other option. Ally had to survive.

Hey Allybear, you're going to be okay. I know you can survive this, I know you've been through a lot so far in your life but hold on. It will get better; I will make sure of it. You have an amazing team of doctors that are going to make sure you survive this bump in the road. There's Dr. Duval, Dr. Sterling, and I know you'll have amazing nurses. When you heal we are going to Disney World, I love you so much baby girl; Just please survive this. For me, for Jinxy and Snookie, who already miss you so much." Belle whispered as she had more tears herself.

Nick finished taking Ally's vitals when Belle finished. Nick looked to Belle, how about you get some sleep. I will take you to the parent room." Nick told her when he saw Belle yawn. "Okay, thank you so much Dr. Duval. I don't think fate could have given us a better doctor than you are." Nick smiled. "You're welcome, just relax and I will, along with my intern will watcher her extremely close overnight. And in the morning, like I mentioned earlier there will be tons of exams and tests on her." Nick said, walking with her to the parent room and Belle nodded. "Thank you again. I will pray that she makes it an easy night for you." Nick patted her on the shoulder. "Good night Ms. Edwards. I hope you sleep well." Nick said and excused himself to give her privacy.

Belle rested on the bed, she was surprised that it was comfortable. Most hospitals always had uncomfortable beds and chairs. Except for Dalton, which she already knew that Dalton Medical Center was easily one of the best in the country. This was one of the reasons she was confident, but she still was worried, scared regardless of the doctors she knew that Ally had.

Belle fell asleep after crying more over the events that happened.

Nick had stayed up most of the night. He kept his promise to Belle by checking up on Ally multiple times. He had just paid for his morning coffee and thought that it would be a nice gesture to get Belle coffee too. He walked up to the parent room to give Belle the coffee and updates about what happened over night. Nick was glad nothing bad happened but he had a long rest of his shift full of tests.

He knocked on the door and walked in when he heard "Come In." He smiled warmly at the woman who was sitting on a chair next to her bed. "Good morning Ms. Edwards." He greeted and Belle smiled in response. "Morning. How is she?" Belle asked. She was not allowed in the room as Lucy was taken back to radiology and both Nick and Jeff were waiting for the scans.

"She made it through the night, her vitals are fine. She is in radiology now, and there are a few tests I want to do like I said last night, but really… she's doing remarkable. I brought you some coffee, Dark roast." Nick said handing over the Starbucks.

"Oh my gosh, you really are as good as they say you are, that is exactly what I drink." Belle said accepting the cup. "Thank you, you really didn't have to get me coffee."

"It was my pleasure." He insisted.

Belle smiled. She really could not have been luckier. "And please, call me Belle."

Nick grinned. "Okay, then call me Nick, or Dr. Nick, or Dr. Bat Nick."


	5. A Change of Problems

**Hey all! I just one thing to say! Please dont criticize me on the medical parts. I am slowly learning and if I have something wrong nicely let me know. Thank you! And please review!**

Belle laughed, and Nick smiled seeing her light up at that. "Dr. Bat Nick, did you come up with that? What is the meaning behind it?" She had asked the doctor as Nick took a sip of his blond roast.

"I came up with it, I am never really that creative with names, but I love batman. I am in a way, a fanatic of Batman, and I thought to myself about a name the kids would like and it came to me while I was doing charts." Nick answered sheepishly.

"Well, I love that name, and I am sure the kids do too." Belle responded as she took a sip of the coffee Nick had gotten her. "Mmmm this tastes amazing." She told him as she held it up. "Thank you, this is what I needed."

Nick smiled. "My pleasure. Okay, so I will be attending to Ally, for a few hours and check up on my other patients. If you stay here, unfortunately the hospital does not allow parents to be there when we do tests. So you can stay in here, go to the waiting room, go to the gift shops, or go to your house. It is up to you, you have a few hours ahead of you. It is my goal to be done by noon at the latest. I will give you a parent pager, which is a we give updates." Nick explained and Belle sighed.

"I don't know, I want to be close to her, but I need to get a few things… but I don't have a car…" She sighed and Nick nodded. "How about this; we have cabs that cater to us as a hospital for families in your type of situation. Ally will be taken care of, but of course, for the chance that something does happen you will be contacted while you are away. I just want you to be comfortable during this time." Nick told her and she looked up into his eyes, feeling mesmerized by the man in front of her with the navy scrubs and lab coat.

"That would be great, and I trust you, you've already been so amazing to me Nick, I don't know how to repay you for your compassion, gratitude and skills. So I guess I will go home to get clothes and a hot shower, would it be okay if I bring back Ally's favorite stuffed animal for her room?"

Nick nodded. "I will allow that." He replied and she nodded, and hugged him. "Thank you. So I will see you in a few hours?"

"Yes, I will try to have as much as I can ready to inform you." Nick answered and Belle smiled. "Okay. Thank you."

* * *

As soon as Nick walked into the room he got to business."Hey there sweetheart, I am Dr. Nick, the doctor mom told you about last night. I am going to do everything I can to make you feel better." He said the unconscious girl as he pulled his green stethoscope out of his lab coats pockets. After plugging the plugs in his ears and the flat part on her chest he listened to Allys heart. When he was around the left ventricle of her heart he heard something that he didn't before. Whatever it was, it was not normal.

After Jeff walked in the ICU room Nick looked up. "I need your opinion on something Jeff. I could be hearing something, but I am not sure." Nick said handing his green stethoscope to Jeff. Jeff was obviously not a neurosurgeon, but that didn't mean that Jeff didn't know about the heart.

"That isn't normal, Nick, Page Blaine." Jeff replied after her heard the heart himself. The nurse in the room with the two doctors took the initiative and paged the cardio attending herself as they discussed possible possibilities.

"You didn't hear it before?" Jeff asked Nick, who shook his head. "I didn't, we will see what Blaine says but if it's what I think it is, we might have saved her life."

Jeff beamed. "I hope that your right, I'm no heart surgeon, but that did sound concerning. I will check her out before Blaine gets here. How is her abdomen doing?"

"It is doing pretty well; there are no signs of infection or anything." Nick answered as Blaine walked in the room. "Nick, Jeff, you paged?" Blaine asked with a smile before he looked down at Ally. "Oh my, poor dear." Blaine said and Nick nodded. "Yeah, well, this is Ally, age 4 years old. She came in as a Trauma last night. After initial assessment she was taken to surgery for an exploratory laparotomy for internal bleeding and a hematoma in her brain. The mother told us that she was allergic to anesthesia, so we took extraordinary measures to make sure she isn't in the OR for too long. Long story short, I heard her heart a few minutes ago. Something is wrong. I want your opinion." Blaine smiled. "Of course."

Blaine listened in to her chest after plugging in the stethoscope, after he heard the exact same thing Nick and Jeff heard he looked up. "I hear it, it's really faint but it is there. Good job, Nick." Blaine told his friend.

"Does she have chest x-rays or any type of scans?" Blaine asked as he pulled up her file on the iPad chart.

"I ordered the lodox, and an MRI for Jeff, they aren't ready to be seen yet." Nick explained and Blaine nodded. "Okay, good well at least they are in, I want a chest x-ray, CT, and I am going to schedule a TEE, so we can see what it is. But this could be an undiscovered heart defect. The mom doesn't know yet?"

"No, when I asked she didn't know about anything." Nick answered and Blaine nodded. "And if this was a defect, this would explain about the anesthesia allergy. That could be the reason all along. I mean, she still could be allergic, but if it isn't… she isn't allergic and this heart defect could the reason.

"It would be something to look into." Nick replied and Jeff smiled. "Exactly."

Just then Nick's pager beeped, and after reading it he saw that the scans were ready. "The scans are ready." He announced. "Okay great, I will come with you. Nurse Alice can you take her to radiology for a chest CT?" Blaine asked and the nurse nodded. "Of course Dr. Anderson."

Nick and Blaine left Jeff who was getting ready to leave for a different surgery. They both walked down the hall to the peds viewing room. "I'll be damned; she has a CHD, look at that Nick." Blaine said after he saw the heart scan on the picture from the lodox.

"I can't believe it." He said, shaking his head.

"Nice find Nick, you just saved this young girls life." Blaine said and Nick smiled. "Thank you, Blaine."

"You're welcome. I will schedule the TEE and we will go from there. "How about you update the mom." Blaine said and Nick nodded. "Of course." He said as he paged Belle to the waiting room. He didn't know where she was, but he hoped she was still at the hospital.

* * *

Belle had a relaxing time, she had took the cab to get a few things and then returned back to the hospital after she showered. It was boring until she went to the gift shop, but shopping didn't make her feel better at all. She was reminded about Ally from most items in the store. She had gotten 3 balloons for her room so it had more color. At 11:30, she felt the pager beep that Nick gave her.

She ran as fast as she could up the stairs, and into the peds waiting room. She saw Nick arrive there at the same time as her. When he saw her she smiled and rushed to him. "Hi, how is she?" She asked.

Nick sighed. "Well, we have found a serious problem in her heart that could not have been detected before. I paged Dr. Anderson, our head of cardiothoracic surgery here at DMC and he is with her now." He started and sat her down. "We have found a heart defect, also called cardiomyopathy. We are running even more tests to find out what kind it is. However, we think this rules out the fact that she is allergic to anesthesia." Nick explained to her and she started crying.

"This is bad isn't it? I've heard that these things can be deadly."

Nick shook his head. "Let's not worry about this as of yet, like I said Dr. Anderson wants to run a test called a TEE in which we stick a tube down her throat that is attached to a camera. She won't feel it because she is in a coma. But this test allows us to see what the heart actually looks like, and we can treat it better." He smiled before Belle hugged him. "Thank you, do whatever you need to do, I just want her to feel better. So when will this test be?"

"Dr. Anderson is scheduling it now, so hopefully today, tomorrow at the latest."

Belle put her hand on her chest, and looked up. "What is the worst case scenario for her?" Belle asked and Nick looked into her eyes. "Well, the worst case scenario is that the damage is already so bad that she will need a heart transplant.

"How could this been undetected so far?"

"These things are sometimes are tricky to diagnose. It doesn't sound that big, but we will know more after the TEE. But luckily I happened to place my stethoscope in the right spot for me to hear it." Belle smiled.

"You are a knight in shiny armor."

"Nahhh, I am the Dark Knight." He winked and Belle slapped him on his shoulder. "Good one." She said as she cracked up. "Dr. Bat Nick. I will always love that name." She whispered and Nick grinned.


	6. Hope

"So, as far as we know, Ally is going to be okay. I don't want to say she's out of the woods yet, but his critical injuries are resolved. If you would like to follow me, I think it's time to see her. Dr. Sterling told me that he is going to relieve her from the coma to check her Neuro function. This he wants to do before Dr. Anderson's TEE." Nick told her with a wide smile, as Belle closed her eyes. "Oh my god, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Don't worry; I am just glad that she is in no longer critical condition. Ally is a very lucky girl." Nick smiled at her and she nodded. "She is, she has been with me through it all, and after my husband left me it has been tough."

"I am so sorry to hear about your husband, you are a beautiful woman and you don't deserve anything like that to happen." Nick told her and she nodded.

"I really appreciate you saying that, you are too nice."

"I am not; it is the 100% truth."

Nick and Belle walked to the PICU and walked in. Ally was back in the bed and Jeff was writing in her chart. The blond attending looked up and smiled at Belle. "Hello again."

"Hi." Belle replied and stroked Ally's hair. "I also brought her dog, if she is allowed to have it in here."

"That is perfectly fine; she can have it when I check her Neuro function." Jeff explained to Belle, who smiled. As Jeff began to get to work and injected the drug to raise her from the coma Nick talked to Belle. "This is always crucial in the first 12 hours; we need to make sure there is no brain damage." He whispered as his friend disconnected the vial to her IV.

"Sometimes this can take a while; it really depends on the patient." Jeff then said and Belle nodded, there was no doubt she was nervous. All three of them were nervous which made the whole room very quiet.

Just then Jeff saw Ally flutter her eyes. "She is coming around." He whispered and both Nick and Belle walked to the bed. Nick looked at the monitor, relieved that her vitals were stable as she began to regain consciousness. He looked down at his patient as Ally groaned and looked around, most likely wondering she was.

"Hey there, Ally!" Nick said sweetly to her as her eyes gazed on him. "Where am I?" She asked. "Where is my mommy?"

"I am right here, baby girl." Belle said after Nick moved to the side so Belle can be closer. "How do you feel?" Nick asked. "My tummy and heard hurts. What happened momma? Why am I here?"

"We got in a little accident sweetheart, but don't worry, things are going to be fine."

"She is right, all you need to worry about is what flavor of ice cream you're going to get when you leave." Nick said with a smile and Ally giggled. "I am Dr. Nick, sweetie and he is Dr. Jeff."

"Hi, princess, Dr. Nick is right. I want you to do a few things for me. Can you squeeze my hand?" Jeff asked and Belle tensed. Nick put her hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's going to be okay." He whispered and Belle nodded. "I just can't help it."

Ally squeezed Jeff's hand as hard as she could which was great. "Perfect, wow, you're strong." Jeff said and the girl laughed as Jeff took out his penlight from his chest lab coat pocket.

"I feel hot." The girl complained, which immediately concerned Nick. "Oh sweetie, it's going to be okay, they will make you feel better." Belle smiled and Ally nodded as Jeff asked her to follow the light. Nick had grabbed the thermometer and waited for Jeff to finish with her eyes.

"She looks good so far, let me just test her nerves and reflexes." Jeff announced and moved down to her legs. Nick moved the thermal thermometer across Ally's forehead and cheek and frowned a little when it said a higher temperature.

"100.6" He said and immediately went to Ally's urine bag. He looked at it and sighed. "It is red." He said and cursed.

"What does this mean?" Belle asked and Nick sighed. "I don't know, I need those scans to be sure." Nick said and looked to Jeff. Nick checked her abdomen as Jeff checked Ally's reflexes. "It's not warm, there's no infection at the incision site.

Just then the nurse came in with the scans and Nick smiled. "Oh perfect timing, thank you Nurse Lucy." Nick smiled at her and accepted the scans. As he took the scans out of the large manila folder he briefly held them up.

"What is it Nick?" Jeff asked. "She has a UTI." Nick announced. "We are noticing this really early which is good. Let's to be sure, use the urine for a urinalysis and CBC. I will start antibiotics. It should clear up within a day or two." Nick announced.

"Good plan." Jeff said. "Well she is good neurologically, but page me if something happens. I have a surgery." Jeff said and smiled at Belle. "Nick is really good at what he does, don't worry." Jeff said and Belle smiled. "Thank you Dr. Sterling, I know he is great. You are too."

Jeff smiled at her one last time before walking out of the room. Nick looked at Belle and smiled. "She will be okay." He said as he logged into the drug cabinet and got a vial of Amoxicillin.

"I know. I am beginning to have faith. I know this happens sometimes." Belle said and Nick smiled before he looked down to Ally. "This won't hurt sweetie, it will only help you feel better." Nick told the girl and Ally nodded.

"Yes it does, it is really unfortunate but this is going to clear up. They always do, depending on how far it developed and how soon we caught it; in this case it was soon. The last time the nurse took the temp was 10 am, and it was at her normal range." Nick explained. "However, I am going to notify Dr. Anderson and we will postpone the cardiac tests like the TEE until further notice."

"That is perfectly fine, I am just so happy you found the cause of that, you'd be the first of the many doctors that noticed."

"Can I go to sleep?" Ally asked and Nick nodded. "Of course, I will come in a few hours to see you." Nick smiled down as Belle joined in. "Nighty night, baby girl." Belle said as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Nick smiled at her. "I was just doing my job."

"I know, but you do it well." Belle told him and Nick smiled. "Thank you, so, are you hungry?" Nick questioned as he finished up. Belle had grinned. "I am famished."

"Okay, cool. Well, if you don't want to its okay, would you like to accompany me to the cafe?" Nick asked and Belle nodded. "I'd love to, doctor."

"Good. It will be nice to get to know you better." Nick said as he wrote in Lucy's chart.

"Same." Belle replied and Nick nodded. "Well let's go. Luckily it's a slow day for me and I have a hour. "Nick said as they both walked out.


	7. Getting To Know Each Other

"So Dr. Duval, tell me about yourself." Belle had asked Nick as they both walked into the Café on the first floor of Dalton Medical Center. Nick looked over to the woman who he was really beginning to like. He couldn't help it, she was beautiful. And he was really tired of being single.

Nick blushed. "Oh I don't really know what to say. There really isn't much interesting things to say about myself. My work is my life right now." Nick admitted and Belle nodded. "That is okay, well according to Dr. Harwood, who seems to like you very much, you are extraordinary. He has said nothing but wonderful things about you and your work. Which I am certain of now, it is inspiring."

**Flashback…**

Once Belle and Thad arrived to the hospital on the rig, they went inside and Thad rolled her into the room and helped her on the bed. She was too worried about Ally, so she sat there, looking around while Thad tried to get her attention. "Mrs. Edwards? It is going to be okay. After your treated I am going to go to your daughter's doctor and ask how she is doing, okay?" Thad told Belle, who nodded.

As Thad pulled on a pair of gloves Belle looked at him as he sat down on the swivel stool. "Can you tell me about her doctor? Is he good?"

Thad smiled. "He is wonderful; he is amazing with kids, very skilled hands for a surgeon. I was his resident when he was an intern and he took me by surprise. He is young, only 29 years old, we are really good friends. So trust me when I say your daughter is going to have amazing care." Thad explained as he examined her arm.

"You only need a few stitches, but you should be good to go afterwards." Thad had told Belle. "Okay, well thank you, you've been very calm and so nice to me, Ally is all I have."

Thad looked at her. "You're welcome; I just hope things are going to be all right for you two."

**End of flashback…**

Nick blushed again as they stepped in the back of the line. "Well, okay. I will tell you about me if you tell me more about you." Nick lead on. "Deal?" He asked and Belle nodded.

"Deal!" She replied before Nick let her order from the café lady first. _He is such a gentlemen, why wasn't Steve like this?_ Belle had thought after she finished ordering her pasta.

Nick smiled over at her once again as she ordered. After he ordered his own he got two bottle waters for both of them and he paid. "You don't have to pay-" Belle said and Nick smiled at her. "It is okay, I insist."

Belle smiled. "Thank you so much." She whispered. How could she argue with that? He was a gentleman, and he was a doctor. She felt terrible built accepted it. "Can I pay next time?" She asked and Nick nodded. "Yes you can pay." He said as they sat down at a secluded table.

"So! I guess I am first?" Nick asked and Belle nodded.

"How about we take turns? You say one fact, and then I reply with a fact of my own." Belle replied and then Nick nodded. "I quite like that. Okay so, well I attended Ohio State for my first four years of college to get my chemistry degree and I attended the school of Johns Hopkins for my M.D"

Belle nodded. "Okay, I am a Kindergarten teacher over at Maddison Elementary and I went to Wright State in Dayton for that.

Nick grinned. "So we both deal with children on a daily basis." He concluded. Belle nodded. "Yes, we do. What a coincidence." Nick laughed and looked down at his plate for a moment.

"I have a cat named Isis." Nick announced and Belle laughed. "Wow, you really love batman. Isn't Isis what Cat Woman named her cat?" Nick blushed. "Yes it is." He laughed along with her. "In my defense, my ex named her because she looked just like her."

Belle shrugged and smiled. "I really like it, Dr. Duval. I really do, I am not making fun of you."

Nick beamed. "Well thanks, you'd be the first." He admitted. "And please call me, Nick." He told her. "Okay, Nick. I like it." Belle said after she had a bite of her pasta. "This is really good, I don't remember café food tasting this good."

"Yes, pasta is one my favorite meals here. The breakfast is good here too; it helps before a long day of surgeries."

"I bet, with all that work you do…That type of stuff fascinates me; I love the show Grey's Anatomy… looks like I found my own McDreamy." Belle said with smile but then covered her mouth. "Oh my god, I am sorry." She blushed.

Nick chuckled. "Hey it is okay… I am flattered you think that." He admitted and Belle shook her head. "You don't find it inappropriate?" She asked. "I do not. You are a nice woman, a wonderful mom. You are pretty; you will find somebody in the end." He said sincerely.

She beamed; this was probably the nicest compliment she ever had from any man. "Thank you for saying that Nick, and one of these days I am sure one of the single moms of a patient you treat is going to snag you all up."

The doctor smiled. "You are amazing." He laughed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Belle smiled as they both finished their meals. "So, do you have any plans for Christmas? It is coming up soon." She said. "Am I getting too personal? Just tell me."

"Oh no, you're not getting personal. And, my family is in Texas and I happen to be working." He said looking down, I really don't mind. I love staying with the kids over Christmas. It's really cheery; the nurses always do a wonderful job decorating the rooms. We always have a huge tree at the peds entrance, it's truly wonderful."

"Do you think Ally is going to be in the hospital over Christmas?" Belle asked and Nick sighed. "Most likely… yes. I want to keep a close eye on her for a week or so, and if she is better we will mover her to a regular room in peds. But the truth is, she is neurologically intact, this UTI is unfortunate but it's common with surgical patients. My goal is to have her released New Years, maybe the day after."

Belle nodded in agreement. "It sounds good to me. Just as long as she is better." She smiled.

"Well, I will make sure she will have a wonderful Christmas… let me rephrase that… I will make sure you both have a merry Christmas." Nick told her.

"Same, you're the one that's working on Christmas." Belle replied.

Nick shrugged. "It is going to be fine." He assured and started to get up. "Would you like some alone time with Ally? I have other patients to check up on." He explained and Belle nodded. "Yeah sure. Go be a doctor. I'd feel bad if you're making Ally a top priority patient."

Nick smiled. "Well I only have 2 patients in the PICU, Ally and another one. The others are about to be discharged." He told her as they each threw away the trash and walked out of the cafeteria. After walking onto the elevator they had a moment of silence before Nick broke it. "I am going to tell Dr. Anderson, to hold off on the TEE, we found the cause, but it's not a priority, if it has gone virtually unnoticed then its small surely." He told Belle.

"Oh yeah of course, I am just glad that you found the answer. Because I had her get an allergy test and anesthesia wasn't a positive result. But with insurance premiums and all, I haven't taken here to a cardiologist at all." She admitted.

"Yeah, that's understandable." He smiled, walking into the PICU with her. "I will check on Ally first." He told her and Belle smiled. "Okay doctor BatNick."

The two walked into Ally's room relieved that she was awake. "Hey sweetie, do you remember me?" Nick asked in a sweet voice. The girl nodded. "Are you one of my doctors?" She asked which resulted in a head nod. "That I am. My name is Dr. Nick. Can you tell me if you still feel hot?"

"I feel a little better, am I going to be okay?"

"Yes you are, baby girl. Dr. Nick is taking excellent care of you." Belle smiled to her daughter.

"That I am." He smiled to her. "I am going to listen to your heart, okay? Have you ever heard your heart beat?" Nick asked pulling his green stethoscope from his pocket. Ally shook her head and Nick pulled grabbed a child's stethoscope from the wall, this one being pink.

"Well I think it's time you hear it. It is a really cool sound." He explained as he plugged her in her ears and his in his own. He placed both chest pieces on her chest and started to move it around. "Whoa, that is so cool!" Ally giggled and Nick smiled at her. "It is, I told you." He winked before he put the stethoscope around his neck and let Ally keep it. Kids always love those things, and Nick always used it for nervous and shy patients.

He grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Ally's right arm tightly. "This will get a little tight but it won't last that long." He explained before Ally nodded. "Okay." While the cuff was at work he took Ally's temp. "99.6. it's better, so we are at a start." He told Belle and bopped the 6 year olds nose. Ally's giggles made Belle smile more every time. She just loved to hear them.

"One more thing sweetie, I am just going to lift your gown and check your tummy, okay?" Nick told Ally who nodded. Nick lifted Ally's pink gown and began to check the incision site for the third time today. He took off the bandage site and was relieved that there was no warmth, infection or anything. "Everything looks really good." Nick smiled.

"When will I be able to go home? I miss Puddles." Ally asked. Belle smiled and got into the bag she carried around with her. "This is why I brought her here." Belle said and handed her the stuffed dog. "Puddles! Thank you mommy!"

"You're welcome sweetheart." Belle kissed Ally's cheek. Nick watched the interaction and smiled. "How about I leave you both alone for some time? I will be back to check on you and to update you on her labs we took this morning." Nick told Belle.

"Okay, thank you again Nick." Belle told him. "You're welcome, Ally, I will see you soon, okay? You are being a really brave girl." Ally nodded. "Good bye doctor Nick."

Nick left the room after he waved to the two, and moving on to the next patient of his round. He didn't know what to do. He was really beginning to fall in love with Belle.

* * *

**I also will be posting pictures of what I envision Dalton Medical Center to be like interior-wise. It is a very modern hospital and the peds is super duper colorful. :D **

**So stay tuned on my tumblr, which is nickduvallover-fanfiction. **


	8. Another Complication

Nick had started his evening rounds and was relieved that his shift was almost over. But, he could not stop thinking about Ally and Belle. He was glad that Ally was awake but he was still concerned about her fever that she had earlier. He wondered if she had a UTI or not, even though it probably was the case. All of the signs and symptoms were there.

Dressed casually in his navy scrubs and lab coat he held the entire stack of charts and placed them in the cart. He then picked up Ally's chart to see what was given to her for the past two hours. He was really happy that Rachel, Ally's nurse had given her some more antibiotics for her fever that comes and goes. The nurse had also put his confirmation, the report saying that she did have a UTI. He sighed and continued to read the folder.

"Hey Nick." Nick looked up after he recognized that it was Jeff. He smiled and closed the light green binder.

"Hey man, how was your surgery?" Nick asked the fellow attending and Jeff smiled. "It went great; the man was living his life through headaches every day for 20 years just because of a brain tumor pressing against his optic nerve." Jeff sighed and Nick nodded. "Wow, that's a long time."

Jeff nodded as they started to walk down the hallway towards the PICU. "Were you about to check on Ally?" Jeff questioned as Nick handed him the chart.

"Yes I was about to; I'm guessing you were too?" Nick asked and Jeff smiled. "Well yes, and I have another child. I will check on Ally first. Is she still awake?" Jeff asked next and Nick nodded. "Yes she is gave her and her mom some alone time." Nick replied and Jeff nodded. "Has her tests come back yet?"

"Yes, they are in the back, the test for the UTI came up positive. She still had a fever according to the nurse who took her vitals an hour ago, but we are still giving her the antibiotics. "Nick answered the blond as he looked through the chart.

"Have you talked to Blaine?"

"He's in surgery, I told him to call me when he's out." Nick answered. "Well les go see the little girl, and go home. Want to go out for a drink?"

"Nick sighed. "I would, but not tonight. I have a long day tomorrow in surgery. Rain check?" Nick asked and Jeff nodded. "Of course, I get it. I have a long day tomorrow too, I have a huge case. "

"We will go one day this weekend. I am off Sunday?" Nick suggested and Jeff nodded. "Perfect, sounds good." Jeff smiled and Nick nodded. "Okay good, cool."

Both doctors then walked into the ICU and washed their hands at the sink. They walked into the room and smiled at the young girl. Nick chuckled when he saw Belle asleep on the chair. As Jeff was checking Ally over Nick took her vitals and was glad that her fever was going down again.

"How do you feel Ally?" Nick had asked and Ally looked at him. "I- feel-." Just then she started to vomit blood. Nick immediately reacted with the plastic bowl. It lasted for several more moments and Ally laid back down and started to cry, waking Belle up. Nick patted her back and kneeled. "Shh its okay sweetheart, you're going to be fine." Nick cooed.

"What happened?" Belle said as she ran over to Ally's bedside.

"She vomited blood. I want to run an ultrasound; can you get that for me Jeff?" Nick asked and Jeff smiled. "Of course, be right back." Jeff replied. Nick started to feel Ally's abdomen and noticed it was really swollen. This concerned him and made him worry.

"What could this mean Nick?" Belle had asked, suddenly really scared, her eyes starting to swell up from the tears that would be falling soon.

Nick sighed. "It could be a number of things, from swelling to a tear. But whatever it is, it's treatable. "Nick said as Jeff rolled in the machine. "Thank you." Nick said and started to prep the machine. "Okay Ally, sweetheart, this is going to be a little cold." Nick told her in a sweet voice and Ally nodded.

Nick squeezed the gel over Ally's stomach and started to use the wand to find the problem. After a few minutes he finally found the cause. Belle noticed Nick's expression and asked "What is it?" She asked panicked, waiting for Nick's response.

"She has what we call acute pancreatitis. It is when the pancreas becomes inflamed, it sometimes is an after-the fact result of a trauma. Or medication, like I said it is treatable. And she has a very minor case. So right now, we can just settle for intravenous fluids and hope for the best." Nick answered.

"I will see you tomorrow Nick. " Jeff waved to Belle and bopped Ally's nose, which made her giggle.

"Bye Jeff, Have a good night." Nick said and looked back to Belle.

Belle sighed. "Okay, so she will be good? I don't need to crazy worried mom on you?" Belle asked which made Nick laugh. "No, I would not advise it." He answered.

"Okay, then I trust you. I have trusted you."

Nick smiled. "Thank you, I guess it's safe to say that it's nice to have a parents trust. Let's let the nurse set her IV up and we can talk about her plan." Nick said and squeezed her Ally's shoulder. "Of course, I will be right back baby girl." Belle said and followed Nick out the door.

"Nick, thank you for being there when she vomited, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Belle told Nick and Nick put a hand up. "It is okay, you look really tired. I would advise you to get a good night's sleep tonight. Doctor's orders." Nick winked and Belle slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

"Yes, doctor. I will for sure tonight." Belle smiled and Nick nodded. "Good." He smirked before he looked through the glass to watch the nurse and Ally interact.

"When are you off?" Belle asked as Nick sighed. "I have about 15 minutes, but I have a few things to do in my office before I leave." Nick answered and Belle smiled. "Good, I am happy you don't have one of those long 8 hour shifts. I heard those are terrible."

"Yeah, but 72 hour ones are the worst obviously." Nick replied and Belle looked at him bewildered. "How do you do that Nick?"

"It's hard, trust me, but we have on call rooms here and if it's slow and have nothing to do, you sleep."

"Well, I hope you have a good rest, you deserve it. You have been working hard, and I am so thankful for your efforts." Belle smiled.

"You're welcome, I just want Ally to survive, and everybody does. She is a sweetheart."

Belle grinned. "Thank you, Nick. You are too nice to me."


End file.
